Steamed Jam Sponge Pudding (Northamptonshire Pudding)

Steamed jam sponge pudding is a true classic in the world of British desserts. It’s easy to make and delivers an immensely comforting sweet and sticky dessert that is perfectly complemented by a generous drizzle of custard or cream.

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If you are looking for a frugal, easy to make, nostalgic and entirely delicious rib-sticking style of dessert, then give my steamed jam sponge pudding a try. The combination of fruit jam and light, fluffy sponge is the stuff legendary dessert dreams are made of.

The East Midlands boasts a variation of steamed pudding known as Northamptonshire pudding, which has raspberry jam stirred directly into the sponge batter. I’m presenting my take on this dish as part of my growing collection of recipes from the East and West Midlands.

What is steamed pudding?

Steamed sponge pudding is a somewhat old school British dessert made from butter, sugar, flour and eggs. Suet can also make an appearance. These ingredients are made into a batter which is then poured into a pudding basin, covered and cooked for several hours on the stovetop in a large pan containing hot water. The hot water steams the pudding, hence the name.

It’s common to find ingredients such as jam, marmalade or golden syrup adorning the top of a steamed pudding.

Incidentally, steamed puddings can be savoury as well as sweet. Steak and kidney pudding is a fine example of a savoury pudding.

What is Northamptonshire Pudding?

Northamptonshire pudding is simply a traditional steamed pudding with a small amount of raspberry jam mixed directly into the batter. Unlike my representation, the traditional version does not have a slick of jam on top too. It contains just five ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, flour and raspberry jam.

This little-known regional recipe was published in The Northamptonshire Federation of Women’s Institutes’ Recipe Book in 1933 although it’s likely that it has been around, in slightly different guises, for much longer. In my investigations, I came across a reference to a suet style pudding from the late 1700s. Intriguingly, it involved neither sugar nor jam. The ingredients list was sparse and I felt it could be devoid of much flavour, so I decided to leave that version well alone.

In its most basic form, Northamptonshire pudding could perhaps prove to be a little conservative for modern tastes. Arguably, a good splurge of jam on top of the steamed pudding works wonders to elevate the taste and appearance of this humble regional take on the classic steamed pudding.

In truth, I was a little concerned that stirring raspberry jam into the pudding would render it an unappetising sludgy pink colour, but I was mistaken. Once cooked, the jam sponge pudding takes on a distinctly attractive deep golden hue. Magic.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I’ve gone the extra mile to sympathetically revamp the Northamptonshire steamed jam sponge pudding to account for modern pantry staples and tastes:

• Jam is still blended into the batter giving the sponge a wonderful colouring.
• But a little jam is also added to the bottom of the pudding basin.
• And there’s the option of spooning even more jam over the top at the point of serving (highly recommended).
• A little vanilla extract also enhances the basic pudding batter.
• Baking powder is incorporated to produce a light steamed pudding (the original recipe specifies neither self-raising flour nor baking powder).

The end result is a full-flavoured comforting old-fashioned British pudding. The sticky sweet jam is the perfect partner to the soft sponge and a generous serving of custard.

Ingredients and equipment notes

Ingredients

This steamed jam sponge pudding doesn’t cost much to make, the ingredients are basic.

Butter: I recommend butter over baking margarine for a fuller, richer flavour. Ensure it is at room temperature and soft enough to cream easily.

Raspberry jam: do yourself a favour and buy quality. It really doesn’t matter if the jam is seedless or not but do pick one that has a high fruit content (50% at least). You’ll get a far fruitier flavour out of your steamed pudding this way.

Vanilla extract: this is an optional extra. If you want the true Northamptonshire pudding experience then feel free to leave it out (and weep later).

Baking powder. Though not specified in the original recipe, a little raising agent makes all the difference in a jam sponge pudding. I used plain flour and tested the recipe with and without baking powder, so you can take my word for it. Alternatively, use self-raising flour and omit the baking powder.

Equipment

For this steamed jam sponge pudding, you will need a 0.9 litre pudding basin and a saucepan large enough to comfortably hold the basin with the lid tightly on the pan.

You will also need a trivet to stand the basin on in the pan to prevent the base of the steamed pudding from burning.

Step-by-step instructions

The list of steps to make this steamed jam pudding may look lengthy but I promise you it’s a quick recipe to prepare. Once mixed it just cooks away for just under 2 hours, leaving plenty of time for you to get on with other tasks.

1. Prepare the pudding basin by greasing the inside well with butter.
2. Put a full kettle of water on to boil.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together.
4. Cream the butter and sugar using electric beaters until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in one egg.
6. Next beat in 1 tablespoon of flour.
7. Mix in the second egg, ¼ of the jam and the vanilla extract.
8. Fold in the remaining flour using a large metal spoon.
9. Put another ¼ of jam in the bottom of the pudding basin.

10. Transfer the batter to the pudding basin.
11. Cover with pleated greaseproof paper and foil and tie tightly with string to create a watertight seal. Trim the foil and parchment so that they come less than halfway down the side of the basin.
12. Put a trivet into the base of your saucepan and place the pudding basin on the top then carefully pour the freshly boiled water into the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pudding basin.
13. Place on the stovetop and cook using gentle heat, allowing the water to barely simmer, for 1 hr 45 minutes. Top up the water if necessary.
14. Once fully cooked remove from the heat then carefully remove the foil and parchment. Turn the pudding onto a plate.
15. Warm the remaining jam and spoon over the top of the pudding.

Expert tips

• All of my recipes are developed using grams (the metric system). Metric measurements are far more accurate than the cups measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using grams and a set of digital scales.
• To ensure that the steamed jam pudding rises well it is vital that the water comes halfway up the side of the basin whilst it is cooking and that the water is freshly boiled rather than cold when added to the pan.
• Ensure too that the foil and parchment are trimmed sufficiently so that the water does not touch them (this reduces the risk of ending up with a soggy pudding).
• Use a long skewer to check the pudding is cooked after the cooking time is up. Poke a hole through the foil and parchment a little wider than the skewer. If the skewer comes out clean the pudding is sufficiently cooked.
• Alternatively plunge a digital food thermometer into the centre of the pudding and check the temperature is at least 95C/ 180F.
• Steamed jam pudding is best served hot. It’s a mistake to serve it barely warm or cold as the sponge will feel denser than it should.

Frequently asked questions

Variations

If you’re looking for ways to modify this steamed jam pudding slightly, try the following ideas:

• Kind of obvious but vary the flavour of the jam. Raspberry is traditional for Northamptonshire pudding but strawberry or blackberry would work a treat too.
• Mix 2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut into the sponge batter.
• Add a touch of rosewater – it pairs beautifully with raspberry and vanilla. Around ¼ – ½ teaspoon will be plenty.
• Alternatively, omit the vanilla extract and stir in the finely grated zest of a lemon.

More comforting puds to relish

Have you made this steamed jam sponge pudding? I hope you enjoyed it – let me know how you got along by leaving a comment or rating below. You can also show me your creation on Instagram by tagging me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.

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